Const. John Davidson is shown in an undated handout photo. A judge has found a man guilty of first-degree murder in the shooting death of a police officer who was investigating reports of a stolen vehicle in Abbotsford, B.C.Justice Carol Ross of the B.C. Supreme Court delivered her verdict today in the trial of Oscar Arfmann, who was accused of gunning down Const. Davidson in November 2017.
Image Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Abbotsford Police Department
October 10, 2019 - 1:13 PM
NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. - A judge has found a man guilty of first-degree murder in the shooting death of a police officer who was investigating reports of a stolen vehicle in Abbotsford, B.C.
Justice Carol Ross of the B.C. Supreme Court delivered her verdict today in the trial of Oscar Arfmann, who was accused of gunning down Const. John Davidson in November 2017.
The prosecution argued Arfmann ambushed the 53-year-old officer as he got out of his vehicle, shooting him twice from behind.
Crown attorney Wendy Stephen told the trial that a man matching Arfmann's description stole a vehicle two days earlier and shot at the dealership managers who confronted him, left the area, then returned and killed Davidson to escape arrest.
In their closing arguments, defence lawyers said Arfmann had no motive to kill Davidson and that the Crown's case depended on conflicting witness accounts.
Defence lawyer Frances Mahon also questioned the Crown's assertion that the rifle accepted as the murder weapon was linked to Arfmann.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2019